Lionel Messi, the captain of the Argentine national team, has become the oldest outfield player in the history of World Cups to play in a semi-final match.
Messi, aged 39 years and 21 days, officially set this record by starting in the match against England in the semi-final of the 2026 World Cup.
The previous record for this achievement belonged to the 1958 World Cup. At that time, West Germany representative Fritz Walter and Swedish footballer Gunnar Gren played in the semi-final match at the age of 37 years and 236 days.
However, the absolute record for the oldest player to appear in a World Cup semi-final belongs to former England goalkeeper Peter Shilton. He played in the 1990 World Cup semi-final at the age of 40.
Furthermore, Messi provided assists for both of Argentina's goals in the match against England and was named the best player of the match. This was the fifth time he was recognized as the best player of a match at the 2026 World Cup.
Let us recall that Argentina defeated England 2-1 in the semi-final to advance to the World Cup final. In the decisive match on July 19 in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA, Argentina will face Spain. Spain had defeated France 2-0 in the semi-final.
